"Vote her Out" signs have been erected around the South Shore by a Windsor man who is upset with DFO Minister Bernadette Jordan's actions in his community. Photo: Dylan Langille.
Updated as of 11:02 a.m. Thursday, September 16.
Bernadette Jordan’s campaign team has doubts over Clarke’s claims that he did not spend over $500 on his “Vote her Out” campaign.
According to Campaign Manager Jason Rondeau, they were told by Clarke that he had put out around 200 signs. Rondeau says he’s experienced with sign purchasing and does not believe that amount could be produced for such a low cost. “Just this week we ordered 100 signs and it came in close to $1000,” Rondeau said.
That figure does not include the lumber the campaign uses to hold the signs up which rondeau says usually costs around $2.50 per sign.
Rondeau went on to say even if Clarke had the resources to get the signs cheaper whether it be through donations, equipment he already owned or any other means he would still have to claim that as an expense.
The campaign team also says any gas used to install the signs around the community would also need to be claimed as an advertising expense according to Elections Canada.
It is worth noting the signs installed by Clarke were smaller than the average political signs.
Over the past week, Windsor resident Bill Clarke has been traveling to the South Shore to install signs that say “Vote Her Out, Save The Avon River System.”
Clarke says the signs are in reference to Incumbent candidate and Fisheries Minister in the last government, Bernadette Jordan and what he adds is her role in the ongoing dispute over the Avon River which has seen areas of the waterway and Lake Pisiquid in Windsor run dry.
Clarke says DFO is leaving the waterway open now which results in the manmade Lake Pisiquid and its tributary running dry.
Clarke feels since the lake has been full for over 50 years, it’s had an irreversible impact on the river system and now doubts whether fish will ever return.
In March 2021, Jordan issued a ministerial order requiring the draining of Lake Pisiquid. The order, which has been renewed every two weeks, also indicates the provincial aboiteau operator must keep the gates open during all outgoing tides, and then open for at least 10 minutes with each incoming tide to allow for fish passage.
Since 2020, there has been an encampment outside the causeway operations. In the fall, they shut down Highway 101 to urge DFO to take action and provide better fish passage.
Providing fish passage is a legal requirement under the Fisheries Act.
Since Clarke does not believe allowing the tides to flow will have the department’s intended result, he says the downsides far outweigh trying.
“The canoe club that used to operate in the lake wasn’t able to operate,” Clarke said in an interview. “Ski Martock uses it for their water so they won’t be able to make snow, and on windy days the whole town of Windsor turns into a dustbowl,” he said.
It became the reason Clarke decided to create the signs calling for residents in South-Shore St. Margarets to vote out Jordan, whom he believes was most accountable.
A video shared online recently shows what appears to be a member of Bernadette Jordan’s campaign team removing some of the signs which Clarke called inappropriate.
Jordan’s campaign office says they are aware of the video and upon seeing it they asked that no one from their campaign is to touch the signs. They say they have reached out to Elections Canada to see if the signs are in breach of any orders and they will then proceed based on what they hear back.
According to Elections Canada, when an individual or group spends more than $500 on political advertising they are required to register as an official third party. When registered as a third party you then need to follow specific guidelines for things like campaign signs, one requirement is that any signs must be attributed clearly to whoever endorsed them.
Clarke says he has not spent over $500, adding he doesn’t need to register or attribute his signs.
Although some of the signs have been removed, there are still a fair amount spread across the district and Clarke says they were all put on public property.
